Oren Kaplan (October 30, 1979) made his directorial debut with Hamill at the AFI FEST. The film is based on the real life of an American wrestler Matt Hamill. He was the first deaf athlete to win NCAA championship while attending the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in New York. Hammil has also won medals in the 2001 Summer Deaflympics and is now a professional wrestler.

This is an uplifting, sentimental and wonderful film with a universal message. It's an independent and ultra-low budget feature shot in HDCAM Format. Yet, the acting is superb, especially by Russell Harvard (Matt) and Shoshannah Stern (Kristi). Ultimately, the film achieves its goal. One gets to understand and sympathize with characters of the film and their physical disability.

The audience reaction was very positive and everyone seemed to like the movie.

Director Oren Kaplan talks about making of "Hamill" (4:43)

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The AFI fest Breakthrough award, which comes with a cash prize of $5,000 was awarded to "Hamill,".